Archive for October, 2008
Don’t be fooled by the address…
October 31st, 2008 categories: New Listings in the Grove
I just listed this beautiful home located at 2769 SW 22 Avenue in North Coconut Grove. It is walled, gated and tucked behind a long private entryway. The homes offers solitude and privacy. The spacious and light living areas open onto a lovely outdoor terrace with amazing oaks and tropical gardens.
Details:
- 3,057 Square Feet
- 9,608 Square Foot Lot
- 4 Bedroom, 4 Bath
- Garage
- Asking Price: $1,190,000
- Wood Beam Ceilings
- Heated Saline Pool
- New Kitchen and Baths
- New Roof
- 4 Hurricane Glass Sky Lights
- A/C New
- Custom Closet and Garage Organizational Systems
- Electrical Systemes Recently Rewired
- Wood Beamed Ceilings
- Toto Toilettes and Bides installed in all 4 bathrooms
- Two energy efficient water heaters
The home will be held open this Sunday, November 2nd from 3:00 to 5:00.
- Alarm
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Recap: Coconut Grove Real Estate Talk
October 29th, 2008 categories: Coconut Grove Market Conditions
Thanks to all of those who attended my quarterly Coconut Grove Real Estate Talk. I hope I provided some useful information and answered all of your questions. For those who couldn’t make it, here are some of the highlights:
- The average asking price for a single family home in Coconut Grove is currently $1,200,000, while the average sales price is in the $600,000’s.
- Coconut Grove has still not seen the rash of foreclosures that other parts of Miami have. We have approximately 10 homes in foreclosure in all of Coconut Grove. Luckily for us, foreclosures are not setting the market price here.
- While we did see several months of declining inventory (June through August), last month the number of homes for sale bounced back up likely due to the credit crunch and worries over the economy.
- If you want to know a “rough” estimate of what your home’s value is, the average home in North Coconut Grove is $325 per square foot, and the average home in South Coconut Grove is $358 per square foot.
- What will the Grand Avenue development do for real estate in the West Grove? The Village on Grand Projectwill likely improve values in the West Grove. Currently, the average price per square foot of homes in this area is $158, while the rest of the Grove sees values in the $300 range. I am confident that once we start to see the neighborhood revitalized, new buildings going up, new restaurants, new shops, new cafes, values will start to catch up to the rest of Coconut Grove.
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The status of South Florida’s rental market…
October 27th, 2008 categories: Coconut Grove Market Conditions
Here is the second installment of Ron Shuffield’s presentation on the South Florida real estate market. Here he discusses the South Florida rental market, a topic of great interest due to the fact that these days a larger percentage of total transactions are rentals. Ron Shuffield is President of EWM Realtors Inc.
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Highest sale price ever recorded in Grove….
October 26th, 2008 categories: Coconut Grove Real Estate
Last week Coconut Grove saw the highest home sale price ever recorded in Coconut Grove.
The home is located at 3551 Main Highway, and was sold for $11,500,000 (Initially listed at $19,900,000 back in May of 2007). Word on the street was that Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees had a contract on the home at one point, but he is not the current buyer.
Details of the home:
- 11,094 square feet living space
- 7 acres of prime waterfront land
- 4 bedrooms, 6 baths
Up until now, the highest recorded sale price in Coconut Grove was $9,750,000 for a home in the prestigious Camp Biscayne.
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Obama vs. McCain – Implications as a homeowner?
October 25th, 2008 categories: Coconut Grove Real Estate
I am reposting this post, because lately I have had several questions on the issue and I just want people to have the correct information when they head into the polling booths.
Barack Obama and John Mccain do seem to agree on one thing. Neither will change the existing tax laws with regards to profits from home sales.
Both Barack Obama and John Mccain will continue to exempt the first $250,000 of gain from the sale of a primary residence ($500,000 for a married couple) which will result in zero tax implications on all but a very few home sales.
This information is taken from the Urban Bookings Tax Policy Center, a non-partisan website. Click here to view a full report of their tax plans.
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Non-Conforming In Coconut Grove
October 24th, 2008 categories: Coconut Grove Real Estate
This post is authored by our Guest Contributor
James Venney
As a kid in the early 1970’s growing up in Coconut Grove was a lesson in cultural diversity to say the least. On Main Highway while riding in air conditioned comfort of my fathers Cadillac with the rustle of my freshly pressed pinpoint oxford cramping my 5 year old style I would look out the window and ask…”who are those men with the long hair” to which my father would reply…”they are hippies, non-conformists”. The term non-conformist was way too much for my 5 year old mind to grasp but I did realize that they were “different”.
Similarly, non-conforming mortgages are those that do not conform to the loan purchase guidelines set forth by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Jumbo mortgages (those over $417,000) are non-conforming and are therefore considered “different”.
The most recent spasms in the credit market’s have caused the interest rates on non-conforming mortgages to climb as there is very little investor appetite for mortgage backed securities that contain jumbo mortgages, which is odd because the fact is that the default rates on jumbo mortgages is significantly lower that that of conforming mortgages.
Like the Grove hippies of the 1970’s non-conforming mortgages are being unjustly punished for being “different”. Rest assured that as the credit markets thaw non-confiorming mortgage rates will fall and we will all live in harmony once again.
Authored by: James Venney CMPS, CMA
Phone: (305) 960-2671
Email: james.r.venney@homesvclending.com
James Venney is a licensed mortgage broker and a State Certified Residential Appraiser. Currently, he is the top producing mortgage banker at Home Services Lending which is a joint venture with Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway and Wells Fargo Bank.
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A little Halloween humor…
October 23rd, 2008 categories: Coconut Grove Real Estate
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What is a Broker’s Open House anyway?
October 22nd, 2008 categories: Coconut Grove Real Estate
Each Wednesday, real estate offices across South Florida (including mine) have a weekly sales meeting. During the meeting, agents and brokers discuss what is going on in the local market. After the sales meetings are complete, realtors hop in their cars to go to the Broker’s Open Houses. 
Held only on Wednesdays, and only for agents and broker’s, these open houses are typically held for new listings on the market.
As a local specialist, I scour the list of Broker’s Open Houses every Wednesday for homes that may be of interest to my clients. It is a great way to preview homes for potential buyers before anybody else. If it is a beautiful home or a really good deal, my clients are some of the first people to know about it.
I hold a Broker’s Open for every one of my listings. On almost every one that I’ve held, I have an agent who comes in and says “this is perfect for my client!”. Even if it doesn’t turn into a sale, it puts my client’s home on the top of the list for that agent. The fact of the matter is, if an agent has physically SEEN a home (as opposed to just pictures online) they are more likely to match it to a potential buyer.
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“Grove Real Estate Talk” Next Monday
October 21st, 2008 categories: Coconut Grove Real Estate
Just a reminder that my Quarterly Coconut Grove Real Estate Talk will be held next Monday, October 27th from 7:00 to 8:30 pm at GreenStreet Cafe.
Want to know the latest Coconut Grove real estate statistics?
Should you buy in the Grove now, or later?
How should you price your home in the current market?
Where is the Grove real estate market heading in the future?
Will we survive the downturn?
_____________________________________________
Join Me For My Quarterly
Coconut Grove Real Estate Talk
Monday, October 27, 2008 from 7:00 to 8:30 pm
Greenstreet Cafe
All Coconut Grove Residents are invited to attend.
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Celebrity Peacocks On My Street…
October 20th, 2008 categories: Coconut Grove Real Estate
CBS was in town a few weeks ago to shoot this story about the famous peacocks in Coconut Grove. Much of the footage from the video was shot on my street, Bougainvillea Road. They also interviewed two of my neighbors Doc Ward and Phil Stapleton.
Want to read more about the peacocks in Coconut Grove? Check out my posts Peacocks Gone Wild in Coconut Grove, and Are The Peacocks Helping Coconut Grove Real Estate?
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